Director: Barry Levinson
Cast: Robert DeNiro, Bruce Willis, Kristen Stewart, Stanley Ticco
Cert: 15
It’s always fascinating watching a film made by Hollywood about films made by Hollywood, so here we have the story of a producer (DeNiro) trying to get his fading career back on line with a film nobody seems interested in.
The film, the one you might wish to watch, has its moments and both Levinson and DeNiro emerge on the credit side but it disappoints overall since the majority of the characters fail to grab our interest.
'The Player' it isn’t because quite a lot of us have a pretty good notion of what goes on in Hollywood – the back-stabbing, the bitching, the power-games, the lack of good taste and the politics – to know this film doesn’t really shine a light where it’s needed.
It’s funny in parts, teases us with promise unfulfilled in parts, too often turns away from really exposing the mindless business of moviemaking.
Star Rating: 3/5